Leading steel pipe manufacturer Welspun Corp today reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 70.19 crore for the quarter ended December, 2011, largely due to forex losses on account of rupee depreciation.
The company had reported a net profit of Rs 146.52 crore for the corresponding quarter of 2010-11.
Net sales of the company, however, rose by over 54% to Rs 2,449.68 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 1,586.21 crore in the same period last fiscal, it said in a filing to the BSE.
In a separate statement issued later, the company said, "Q3 performance was adversely impacted by Rs 182.3 crore -- foreign exchange provision due to 8.4% depreciation of the rupee during this quarter."
In the October-December quarter, Welspun sold 2,02,000 tonnes of pipe, an increase of about 23% year-on-year, while steel plate sales stood at 1,39,000 tonnes, a growth of 12% vis-a-vis the year-ago period, the statement added.
In addition, the company bagged pipe orders worth Rs 2,400 crore from domestic and international oil and gas majors during the quarter, taking its total order book to Rs 5,220 crore, it said.
In a similar fashion, the infrastructure business of the company operated through Leighton Welspun Contractor Pvt Ltd and Welspun Projects saw healthy growth in order book size to Rs 4,000 crore, it said.
"Despite the difficult economic conditions globally, we have been able to receive sizeable new orders, thereby reaffirming our strong market positioning. Welspun is well-poised to maintain this order book accretion momentum while delivering profitable growth," company Chairman B K Goenka said on the quarterly results.
The company is also gearing up to construct a 1,75,000 TPA capacity ERW steel pipe and coating unit in the US at an investment of USD 65 million. It is expected to be commissioned by March, 2013, the statement said.
However, during the quarter, operations of Welspun Maxsteel— a subsidiary of the group— suffered due to lower gas supply from public sector oil and gas companies and Reliance Industries' KG-D6 block, which was directed by the government.
"Welspun, along with other steel manufacturers (severely affected by gas) are exploring legal recourse," it said, adding that the company has taken up the matter with the highest authorities of the government.
Shares of the company closed at Rs 114.85 apiece on the BSE today, down 0.52% from their previous close.
